Starsan is your friend. Don't fear the foam! Use reverse osmosis or distilled water if you plan to store the sanitizer. I keep some in a spray bottle all the time.

Starsan is a no rinse sanitizer. Once you have thoroughly cleaned your fermenter or anything on the cold side for that matter (I recommend either PBW (powdered brewery wash) or Oxy Clean (original unscented!!!). They are basically the same thing but the OxyClean is cheaper. Follow this with with some starsan. Pour off the excess and you are good to go. the foam left behind wont hurt anything.

I use Iodophor, which is iodine based. It's also no rinse. The only down side I've noticed is that some of my tubing has started to turn yellow, but I've probably mixed the solution too strong a few times to cause that. Never had an infection, so it must be working.

B-T-F whatever you like to call it...you can't beat a spray bottle of this stuff. No rinse, and only requires a 2 minute contact time to be effective, but to be honest...I never wait the full 2 minutes. And have not had a problem in 19 months.

Cgreen sez:{Starsan is your friend. Don't fear the foam! Use reverse osmosis or distilled water if you plan to store the sanitizer. I keep some in a spray bottle all the time.

Starsan is a no rinse sanitizer. Once you have thoroughly cleaned your fermenter or anything on the cold side for that matter (I recommend either PBW (powdered brewery wash) or Oxy Clean (original unscented!!!). They are basically the same thing but the OxyClean is cheaper. Follow this with with some starsan. Pour off the excess and you are good to go. the foam left behind wont hurt anything.}}

I also keep StarSan in a spray bottle. A little will last forever. If you make it with tap water, it will get cloudy after a while, but as long as the pH stays under 3 it still does the job. I've got a pH meter, and even 2-month-old StarSan is still good with a reading of 2.6. Also, if I've got some left over after a brew session, I'll save a quart or two in an old OxyClean bucket I emptied. If you're sanitizing airlocks, stoppers, tubing, etc., just toss 'em in the small bucket, swish it around a little, and you're good to go!

Starsan is really great. A little does go a long way. I would caution to be extremely careful using it around laminated counter tops though. I didn't realize that in full strength, that acid will etch just about anything. Beer making kit: $149, bottle of Starsan: 10.95, Ingredients for Amber ale: $35 destroying the counter tops your wife likes very much.... not so priceless.